


Melted

by kantokraze



Category: The rise of the guardians
Genre: Acceptance, Angst, Family, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Love, M/M, Memories, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-09-25
Packaged: 2019-05-31 14:32:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15121475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kantokraze/pseuds/kantokraze
Summary: Nearly a decade ago, the Guardians Of Childhood took a stand to defeat Pitch Black. Now that the smoke has cleared, time seems to be running out. With his first believer turning eighteen in a few days and the Guardians busy with their duties, Jack is left feeling alone and bitter towards the Man in the Moon. As the nights seem to drag on, Jack Frost is beginning to melt and only his friends can save him.





	1. Frozen Solid

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! It’s been a while. I haven’t posted in about a year, so I’m a bit rusty. I’ve been feeling a bit down lately so I’ve been watching the Rise of the Guardians film over and over, which sparked a small idea. Please enjoy and don’t be afraid to leave any criticsm/errors or recommendations in the comments.
> 
> Quick side note, Bunnymund/Jack’s relationship is pretty open ended, it’s more so up to the reader to decide whether or not they’re super platonic buds or boyfriends.
> 
> With that being said, please enjoy!

Jack Frost was perched in Gnome, Alaska, among the trees. Out of sight, out of mind, but he didn’t much need to be out of a human’s sight to be out of mind. For now, he was just watching and waiting amongst the trees as the wind gathered his hair in small tufts. Jack was watching a few children play in the snow, gathering it in their hands, throwing it back in the air. Over, and over again. Laughing and having a good time, screaming at one another and adjusting scarves and hats to keep the bitter cold from turning their cheeks a rosy pink.

It had been nearly a decade since Pitch had struck against the guardians, and Jack hadn’t much become too acquainted with the other guardians. Sure, they had annual meetings and such, but they were much too busy to make room for Jack in their busy schedules. Sandman and Tooth had nightly jobs that required their attention all over the world. At first he wondered why Sandman couldn’t come to hang out with Jack in the mornings before work, but Sandy attempted to explain time zones to Jack, which he still didn’t understand, much. He was just lonely, to say the least.

Jack had begun to come to terms with the fact that, his best friend and first believer, Jamie, would turn eighteen soon and go onto better things. Over the years, Jamie had begun to have less and less time for his winter spirit. Jack understood that. He was graduating high school, he was going to college, and needed test scores this and test scores that. Jamie had nearly boxed his ears off a few times about how stressed he was. And his friends were the same way, all of them were going to grow up and continue on with better things. But the thing that hurt the most, was that Jamie would no longer be able to see him. His light would disappear from the globe and Jamie would truly be considered a grown-up.  
And that’s probably what would hurt the most.

Jack leaned back on his branch, as a few of the children scuffled back towards the center of their town.  
“It’s getting dark and it’s absolutely freezing!” One giggled, tucking his scarf over his nose.  
“Yeah, okay, Vinnie,” the younger sister giggled, taking her older brother’s hand before trudging off into the snow together. 

“Isn’t it crazy,” Jack muttered towards the moon, “that all children grow up?”  
He threw his feet over the edge of the branch, kicking them in a bit of quiet frustration, “And what happens when Sophie grows up,” He muttered, stifling a half-choked sob, “And no one believes in me again?” Jack exclaimed, with damp blue eyes towards the sky. He fondled his staff between his hands, allowing a few frozen tears to cascade and drop to the ground as fluffy snowflakes. “I just didn’t expect it to hurt so much, I guess. Knowing what it’s like to have someone believe and then they’re just... ripped away by the sands of time.”

Jack jumped to the ground to have a better look at the Man in the Moon. He knew he was watching.  
“I know, I know. You’re never gonna give me a straight answer but just... When? When does it get easier? And why put me in this place just to get hurt again? Show me what I could have and then just rip it away?” He sighed lightly, trying to take it all in.

“Look,” He seemed to shout now, looking up at the moon with all the anger he could muster. “I don’t have any colorful eggs. I don’t have any presents to leave behind, nor do I collect anything of importance or even give anything of importance. A child believing in me is a one in a million chance! Because for nearly three hundred years, I had no one! It was just me and you! And you weren’t much help at all!” Jack kicked at the snow, trying to find a place in his mind to process any information that he could.

“And all I’m doing is talking to myself, now, huh? Do you even care enough to listen to me anymore?” His eyes blazed, clutching his staff so hard that his knuckles turned white. He nodded slowly and turned towards the wind to take him home. It engulfed him with cool air, drifting him towards his destination. He turned around, glancing to see how far he had gotten. But, as Jack learned after all these years: you simply can’t run from the moon.

 

Burgess was home. He had lived here all of his life as a spirit, and even in his life as a human. He had his lake, he had his trees, he had his endless home. But, most importantly, He had Jamie. Jack floated outside his window and looked in. It looked like he was doing some, weird, late night study session. He was hunched over at his desk, glasses perched on his nose, glancing at a textbook and scribbling on a few sheets of paper. Under the dim glow of the lamp, he could barely see what he was working on. Maybe, he should just come back later or—

“Jack?” Jamie called from the corner of his room, “I knew it was getting chilly in here,” He laughed, turning his chair away from the desk. Jack pushed open the window, allowing himself to sit across his bed.

“Yeah, sorry, I didn’t know you were busy and I was in the neighborhood, so I just kinda stopped by,” He laughed, “But I, uh, I can come back later if you’re busy.” He muttered, shifting his staff awkwardly.

“No, no! You’re fine. It’s just calculus. It’s not due until tomorrow in third block, so I’ve got a while. I was just starting early.” Jamie smiled, closing the notebook. “So, it’s been a while, Jack! What have you been up to?”

“Oh, uh, you know. Snow stuff. Very important, since I’m the C.E.O. of fun times. Lots of snowball fights to manage, sledding accidents to arrange, etcetera, etcetera.” Jack nodded solemnly with a pretentious tone.

“Uh-huh, I’m sure it must be extremely hard work.” Jamie laughed, grabbing the bottle of water off his desk, which lead Jack’s eyes to his calendar. He reached over and pulled the thumb tack out, grabbing the booklet in his hands.

“Busy, busy, busy,” Jack snickered, looking at the full month crossed over with X’s and O’s, with notes of appointments, homework assignments, and meetings. “Well, well, well, Mr. Bennett,” Jack said smoothly, “Your calander says that tomorrow after school you’ve got a dentist appointment, Thursday the 8th you’ve got your three years, seven month anniversary with  
Ms. Pippa, does that even count as an anniversary—“ He snorted, before being cut off by his own thoughts.

On the calendar, circled in a bright red pen and decorated in colorful balloons read: Friday, March 9th.  
“18th birthday,” and Jack’s heart nearly stopped.

“Um, Jack? What’s wrong? I know it’s very typical of you, but you look very pale right now... Jack?” Jamie rose from his chair over to his bed, “Jack, what’s wrong?”

And Jack just knew that everything was wrong. It just so happened that Jamie had o be the oldest of his friends and the first to go. He would lose them all, one by one. Pippa, Monty, Caleb, Claude, Cupcake, and then Sophie. And then he would be alone again. He would be all by himself again. He would have hundreds of nights cursing at the moon, wishing, hoping, that time would just stop so he could feel believed in. So he could run, jump, and play with children. More specifically, the children that believed in him, that wanted him, he just wanted to feel wanted, that was all he ever—

“Jack,” Jamie whispered, kneeling on the ground beside the bed, as frail snowflakes fell from Jack’s eyelids and floated down to his floor. “A-Are you crying? What’s wrong? I’m not sure I understand—“

Jack cupped his head in his hands, letting his staff hit the hardwood floor with a resounding clack.

“Jamie, it’s almost over,” Jack explained through a shaky breath, “On your eighteenth birthday, once those candles go out, you won’t be able to see me anymore. You won’t be a kid anymore.”

“What?” Jamie muttered, taken back, “What do you mean? Then it’s just, over? Everything that’s happened? The sledding accident, the snowball fights, and Pitch? It’s all just... over?”

Jack nodded, trying not to completely break down in front of Jamie, “I’ll always be able to see you. But you won’t be able to ever see me again,” He said shakily, looking up with deepest eyes. “Each child is presented as a light, from ages zero to seventeen, but... once you turn eighteen, you’re not a light anymore. There’s nothing to be protected within you, because as an adult, you carry your childhood with you, always.”

“So,” Jamie said, sitting back in his chair, “What you’re saying is that we have approximately two and a half days until I never see you again?” Jack nodded slowly, his eyebrows furrowed in frustration.

“You were my first believer and now Sophie is going to be my last.” He chuckled sadly, “No child will ever see me again.”

“Jack, there’s no way,” Jamie said quietly, “You helped me the entirety of my childhood, there’s no way a child won’t want to believe in you. You’ve always been here for me since that day on the sled, and I-“ Jamie let out a quivering sigh, “You’ve always been my best friend, Jack. Even if no one else believes in you, I will, even if we can’t see each other anymore. I’ll make sure my children believe in you and my friend’s children, and—“

“Jamie, I appreciate the sentiment,” Jack said quietly, wiping at his face, “But I doubt I’ll have much time left as a guardian, anyway. I don’t do anything. I don’t leave fancy, pastel colored snowballs, I don’t decorate the trees with anything bright other than ice, and I can’t collect your teeth, or toenails, or whatever holds sentimental value— but the point is, I’m not important, Jamie! There’s no reason for kids to believe in me, I don’t work particularly hard, or keep much of a watchful eye or ensure a good night’s sleep, but at least,” His voice dropped to a low whisper, “at least I.. tried.”

Jack couldn’t much help it now, as snowflakes just fell harder and harder until he felt like his face was an entire snowstorm. He grabbed his staff and tore through the room, jumping through the window and into the night.

“Jack, wait, STOP!” Jamie yelled, nearly falling out of his chair to get to his window, “Jack,” he muttered, clutching the windowsil as if his life depended on it. Jamie decided to leave his window open, after looking through the night to just hope he could see Jack through the trees, even just a tuft of his hair through the snow, or floating through the sky with a contagious laugh.

He turned back towards his desk, engulfing his right sock in a puddle of slushy water left on the ground. Before he could question what on earth he had spilled, his eyes darted towards his bed, which also had a thin layer of damp across the sheets.

Jack Frost was melting.


	2. Slush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Man in Moon confesses in an impromptu meeting with the Guardians.
> 
> All except one.

The night seemed to drag on for Nicholas. He has been interested in designing a few new toys with the yetis, but nothing had quite gone his way tonight. He stroked through his beard in deep thought at the collection of these newly discovered ”hatchimals” that kids had already began sending letters to receive. He just couldn’t seem to wrap his head around it— what was the point of sitting around for hours trying to watch these things hatch. Sure, it may have only been four hours tops, but as the clock began to tick on the Christmas season, every hour felt like days. Just as he swore he could see the tiny robot animal begin to move, he began to get a.. strange feeling. In his belly, but he wasn’t so sure if it was just the excitement from the new toy.   
“Oh, c’mon,” North whispered, peering anxiously at the tiny, shaking egg. Maybe if he just stayed absolutely still it would—   
  
Just as he could feel progress begin the happen, the door was slammed open and Phil stood in the doorway, babbling on in yeti.   
“Phil!” North yelled, as he scrambled to catch the creature thrown off the table by Phil’s brute force upon the door, “What have I told you about disturbing the creative process here?”   
  
Phil groaned, a bit curious as to exactly what creative process was going on anywhere, but he rattled on about what was happening in the main lobby, describing the Man in the Moon’s first appearance since Pitch’s near destruction of the Guardians.   
  
“Man in Moon,” North muttered, ignoring the cooing robotic animal rolling around on the floor, “You know what we must do, Phil.”   
  
Phil nodded abruptly, following North through the winding corridors of elves, toys, and wonder, “I wonder what it could be this time,” North murmured to his yeti companion, boots clicking as they made their way across the hardwood floor, “Pitch is long gone, I believe, or at least for another four hundred years or so. Ten years is simply not enough!” He exclaimed to no one in particular, as he made his way to the Globe and the appearance of Manny.   
  
“Manny!” North exclaimed with open arms, “I can’t say I’m not happy to see you, but I am a bit surprised at how soon this call is. What is wrong, Manny? Should I call the Guardians here? Is it so serious?”

 

_ Good evening, Nicholas, sorry to disturb your creative process so late, but it is urgent. It does require a few of the Guardians of Childhood, yes, but not all. _

 

“Not all?” North questioned, “What are you talking about, Manny? Who does this not include?” He asked in a very defiant tone.

 

_ I have to be very frank with you, North. You may summon all of the guardians, but only three with show up. I’d much prefer to explain when they are here to avoid any confusion in relaying messages. _

 

“Well, it never hurts to ask early,” North laughed, “Phil, you know what you must do,” He stated as the yeti babbled on towards the control panel in the main room. He lifted the plastic cover of the lever, slamming it down quickly as a burst of colorful lights engulfed the room.

 

“This is always my favorite part,” North sighed, watching as the northern lights escaped through the open windows and skylights to enter the night sky. North could almost see it now, the extravagance of the vivid pastels against the stars of the night sky. He could picture it now, as Toothiana chirped out orders in her castle, directing her workers across the world to gather the memories of children who were growing older day by day. She would glance across the horizon to see the colors, calling a few of her workers to her side before setting off towards the North Pole in a flurry of beating wings. North could picture Bunnymund adjusting the designs for this year’s batch of Easter eggs, paws dirtied with watercolors and hope for the future. From the grove, just upon the horizon, the signal could be seen, taking a stance against the stark white clouds and lush green mountains in the distance. Bunnymund would sigh loudly, placing his work on hold to stamp his feet in anguish, silently cursing at how cold it would be. North could picture Sandman dancing on top of his cloud, he arms swaying slightly, intertwined with the golden sands to help lull the children to sleep. He would glance up to see the bright lights interrupting his calming work, silently sending off his final streams of sand before taking off into the night sky. And before he knew it, the Guardians would be right in front of him, cheerful and ready to serve the—

 

“It’s  _ bloody freezing  _ in here, mate! This better be good,” Bunnymund huffed, shivering harshly. He took a few hops towards the fire to warm his paws and feet, “It’s not Pitch again, huh?” He huffed, blowing hot air in his hands.

 

“North? What's going on? What's wrong?” Toothiana beamed through an open window, her companions chirping loudly behind her. “It's been months since you called in an emergency like this,” she fluttered anxiously, “where's Sandy? Sandy?” Toothiana questioned, circling the room.

 

Sandy huffed silently, waving his hands erratically. A single exclamation point appeared over his head, cascading the ground around him with a golden sheet.

 

“Oh, Sandy, thank  _ goodness  _ you're alright,” She exclaimed, breathing a sigh of relief-- “Where's Jack?” She immediately questioned to North, quickly scanning the room for his perfect, shining teeth.

 

_ That's what we need to talk about, Toothiana.  _ The Man in the Moon answered as the pale moonlight covered the floor before them. They glanced to the sky as their eyes were glistening with the luminescence of the moon.

_ Jack is about to go through a world of change. And more importantly, he's going to be extremely weak from the consequences. _

 

“Manny,” North said sternly, “What are you talking about? What consequences?”

 

_ As we all know very well, Jack has found his first believers right within his hometown; however, this euphoria and power he has gained will not last for long. Tomorrow afternoon, Jamie will turn eighteen years of age and this is the first of his believers who will no longer be able to see him. _

 

“Yeah, so what? One kid stops believing in him. What’s the deal?” Bunnymund shot back, “It happens to us all the time.”

 

_ Precisely, but you are held accountable for thousands of children believing in you. Jack Frost has less than ten avid believers. Losing even one of them creates an enormous problem. To put it quite simply, Jack’s power threshold was used to having nothing; however, it became amplified when children began to believe in Jack. Losing his believers will begin to have the same effects that followed the rise of Pitch Black. _

 

“So you’re saying that Jack is going to become lesser than he is now? What does that even entail? It doesn’t seem like his form has changed much even since the children began to believe in Jack.” Toothiana questioned, crossing her arms across her chest in anguish.

 

_ That’s a rather large part of the problem, Toothiana. I’m not certain what these effects will have on Jack Frost. He is still young and his form hasn’t matured yet, which could be correlated with the fact that he has little to no believers. I’m just afraid that the toll this will take on his physical form will be… intense. _

 

“One moment, Manny, one moment for me to get my head wrapped around this--” North stated, raising his hand towards Manny’s luminous glow, “You couldn’t possibly be referring to Jack’s demise, could you?”

 

His question was met with silence.

 

“Please, tell me that you’re not, Manny.”  North continued. “I cannot imagine informing him of this. I don’t think that I have the heart to do it, I mean-- he just made friends! After hundreds of years he finally found his place with us and now he’s just going to--”

 

“Disappear,” Toothiana chimed in softly, hovering slightly lower to the ground.

 

_ North, even someone as knowing as I do not have the answers for this. It’s an extremely rare occurrence that I have not dealt with before, but, alas. It was bound to happen. _

 

“One moment here, Manny. You say that you  _ willingly  _ placed Jack into the guardians knowing that it would possibly end in his  _ demise?”  _ North stated in a blunt tone, raising his voice slightly.

 

_ Again, North. I understand your emotional state at this moment in time is for good reason, but each reality we are in is limitless. While I can see an augmented version of each reality, I cannot determine such an outcome for each future. While this was a possibility, it had a very low chance of actually occurring. There is nothing we can do about this now except possibly try to slow the process. _

 

“Well, bloody hell-- for once, I’m speechless. As much as the bugger gets on my nerves, he’s still a major part of the guardians now. I just can’t believe you expect us to be the bearers of such bad news. ‘Sorry kid! Know you just felt comfortable enough with us and all that baloney, hell-- you even found your own believers! Sorry though, looks like you’re going to--’”

 

“Please, Bunny, don’t even say it. I can’t bear to hear such a word. I just can’t.” Toothiana choked out, covering her face with her hands, “There’s got to be some way to fix this, Man in Moon.  _ Anything  _ we can do. We don’t even know Jack that well yet, we can’t just let this end here.”

 

Sandman nodded in agreement, formulating a question mark over his head soon after.

 

“Sandy’s right. We don’t even know what Jack’s actual purpose is in the Guardians, either. Only he knows that. Maybe if there’s some way we could, I don’t know, implement his background into Children’s minds-- he could have a larger following which would balance out his loss of believers..?” Toothiana pondered with an exasperated expression. “Sorry if that sounds silly. I just want to help Jack.”

 

“No, no. That’s a good point, Tooth,” Bunnymund added, “Hold on though. I thought you called all the Guardians. Shouldn’t Jack still technically be here? He should have seen the lights, right?”

 

_ It’s worrisome that he is not, indeed. It begs the question if he is beginning to feel the effects of the inevitable, already. _

 

“Oh,  _ molars _ ,” Tooth mumbled, “We have to stop this before it's too late."


End file.
